18th Century French split plate mirror with reeded detail in the original paint. The paint is chipped in a few areas just adding to the age and charm of this period mirror. Original lightly foxed mirror plate and original backboards. These split plate mirrors are becoming hard to find.
Recycling is a large part in today’s life and although recycling is thought to be a new thing, there was actually a form of recycling that started in the 18th century. In the 18th century there was a heavy tax on glass coming from abroad and because of the failure of English factories to make large mirror plates that was highly sought after; it dictated the form and development of the mirror being created in Britain at that time. To avoid the tax and costly import of the larger mirrors from France, old antique mirrors were recycled and larger mirrors were produced by creating frames which held several pieces of glass, this gave the illusion of a single larger mirror. This went on until the late 18th century.
